Light Work 316 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse NY 13244 / 315 443 1300 / lightwork.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT: August 15, 2018 Cjala Surratt Promotions Coordinator p: (315) 443-9933 e: [email protected] ‘Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul’ Opens August 27 at Light Work Photo Credit (left to right) John Edmonds, Jordan Raising His Hand (Encounter), 2015, Claire Beckett, Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Stevens playing the role of Taliban fighter. Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, CA, 2009, Amy Elkins, 168 Month of a Life Sentence, 2009 August 27 – October 18, 2018 Kathleen O. Ellis and Hallway Gallery Reception: Thursday, September 20, 2018, 5-7 p.m. Gallery Talk: Thursday, September 20, 2018, 6 p.m. Our hope was to spark dialogue about our collective civic responsibility to push for freedom and justice today, as those before us pushed for freedom and justice in their time through peaceful protest and political participation.” — Eric Gottesman, co-curator (SYRACUSE, NY, August 15, 2018) — Light Work is pleased to present Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul: Selections from the Light Work Collection, an exhibition guest-curated by For Freedoms, a platform for civic engagement, discourse, and direct action for artists in the United States, co-founded in 2016 by former Light Work artists-in-residence Eric Gottesman and Hank Willis Thomas. Since then, For Freedoms has produced exhibitions, town hall meetings, and public art to spur greater participation in Light Work 316 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse NY 13244 / 315 443 1300 / lightwork.org civic life. Borrowing its title from the Charles Biasiny-Rivera piece of the same name, Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul features more than forty photographs from the Light Work Collection that explore topics of politics, social justice, identity, and visibility—subjects that, over our forty-five-year history, have remained significant to many artists. This expansive selection of work will be on view in the Kathleen O. Ellis and Hallway Gallery at Light Work from August 27 – October 18 , 2018. The opening reception on Thursday, September 20, 2018, from 5-7 p.m., features a gallery talk with Eric Gottesman at 6 p.m. Find Light Work in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center on the Syracuse University campus at 316 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. Refreshments served. In addition to the gallery selections at Light Work, this exhibition includes a series of billboards throughout the city of Syracuse. Created by internationally renowned artists in collaboration with For Freedoms, these billboards use photography and text to address social issues and our political climate. Be Strong And Do Not Betray Your Soul features more than forty photographs from the Light Work Collection. The list of artists includes: Laura Aguilar, George Awde, Karl Baden, Lois Barden and Harry Littell, Claire Beckett, Charles Biasing-Rivera, Samantha Box, Deborah Bright, Chan Chao, Renee Cox, Rose Marie Cromwell, Jen Davis, Jess Dugan, John Edmonds, Amy Elkins, Nereyda Garcia Ferraz, Jennifer Garza-Cuen, Antony Gleaton, Jim Goldberg, David Graham, Mahtab Hussain, Tommy Kha, Deana Lawson, Pixy Yijun Liao, Mary Mattingly, Osamu James Nakagawa, Pipo Nguyen-Duy, Jackie Nickerson, Shelley Niro, Suzanne Opton, Kristine Potter, Ernesto Pujol, Irina Rozovsky, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Kanako Sasaki, Pacifico Silano, Clarissa Sligh, Beuford Smith, Amy Stein, Mila Teshaieva, Brian Ulrich, Ted Wathen, Carrie Mae Weems, Carla Williams, Hank Willis Thomas. The 50 State Initiative Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul is a collaboration with For Freedoms’ 50 State Initiative. Building upon the United States’ existing artistic infrastructure, For Freedoms has developed a network of artists and institutional partners, including Light Work, who will produce nationwide exhibitions, public art installations, and local community dialogues in order to introduce nuanced, artistic thinking into public discourse. Centered on the vital work of artists, these exhibitions and related projects will model how arts institutions can become forums for civic action. The 50 State Initiative will include the installation of an ongoing series of artist-produced billboards in public and art spaces in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Appropriating the billboard format—a tool of political advertising—these works invite the viewer to engage critically with the messages they present as well as with the medium of political advertising itself. Six of the billboard installations are within the city of Syracuse, New York, in various locations between August 19 - October 9, 2018. The images and text that comprise these billboards aim to provoke conversations in our community that lead to civic engagement. To help easily identify the billboard locations and Light Work 316 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse NY 13244 / 315 443 1300 / lightwork.org encourage engagement, a free downloadable MAP with information about the works on view will be available to the public. For Freedoms started in 2016 as a platform for civic engagement, discourse, and direct action for artists in the United States. Inspired by Norman Rockwell’s 1943 paintings of the four universal freedoms that Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated in 1941—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear—For Freedoms seeks to use art to deepen public discussions of civic issues and core values, and to clarify that participation, not ideology, is the bedrock of citizenship in American society. For Freedoms is part of a rich history of artists employing means of mass communication to provoke political discourse. For Freedoms believes art and artists play important roles in galvanizing our society toward a more representative and transparent government. For Freedoms received the 2017 ICP Infinity Award for New Media and Online Platform. RELATED PROGRAMS Gallery Talk: Eric Gottesman Thursday, September 20, 2018, 6 p.m. For Freedoms co-founder Eric Gottesman will share back-story about the inception of the For Freedoms and use his curatorial selections from the Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul exhibition as talking points to ignite a dialogue about various socially relevant topics. Light Work in Partnership with For Freedoms: Billboard Campaign August 19 – October 9, 2018 Six of the billboard installations are within the city of Syracuse, New York, and will be in various locations between August 19 - October 9, 2018. The images and text that comprise these billboards aim to provoke conversations in our community that lead to civic engagement. Exhibition Catalogue Accompanying the exhibition, Contact Sheet 198 includes an essay by Eric Gottesman. Purchase the catalog online in the Light Work shop at www.lightwork.org/shop Exhibition Support Be Strong and Do Not Betray Your Soul: Selections from the Light Work Collection exhibition and related programming are partially supported by a grant from The Central New York Community Foundation (CNYCF). BIOS, PRESS IMAGES & INTERVIEW REQUESTS *Search Light Work Collection archive to find biography of indivual artists in the exhibition. To request high resolution images for press reproduction and interviews, contact Light Work, Promotions Coordinator, Cjala Surratt directly at (315) 443-9933 or [email protected] Gallery Hours, Admission & General Information Light Work 316 Waverly Avenue, Syracuse NY 13244 / 315 443 1300 / lightwork.org Find Light Work’s galleries in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center, 316 Wa0verly Ave., Syracuse, New York. Gallery hours are: Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.- 6 p.m., Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Light Work closes on all major holidays. Contact Light Work to schedule a guided tour of the galleries or the Light Work Lab. Follow Light Work on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. For general information, please visit www.lightwork.org, call (315)443-1300, or email [email protected]. About Light Work Light Work is a nonprofit, artist-run organization dedicated to the support of artists working in photography and electronic media, located in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center. Light Work invites groups and individuals to schedule tours of the exhibitions and facility and to attend gallery talks. Limited free public parking is available on Waverly Avenue and paid parking is available in Booth Parking Garage. Light Work thanks Syracuse University, Robert B. Menschel and Vital Projects, JGS (Joy of Giving Something Inc.), the New York State Council on the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, CNY Arts, the Central New York Community Foundation, and the subscribers to Contact Sheet for their dedicated and ongoing support of our programs. Light Work is a member of CMAC, the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers at Syracuse University. ### .